If you like driving over the Roanoke River Bridge on the Blue Ridge Parkway, you might want to get in one last ride before it closes.
According to the National Park Service, the bridge will be closed from mid-April through Spring 2022.
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Officials said that the closure is to take care of repairs that were originally identified as a priority by the National Park Service and Federal Highway Administration in 2015.
Once the closure is in place, the detour will be in place from VA Route 24 at Washington Avenue at milepost 112.2 to Adney Gap at US-221 at milepost 136. Explore Park will be accessible from the south via US-220.
The project includes concrete repairs to bridge piers, reconstruction and drainage repairs to approach areas, removal of existing asphalt surface and waterproofing membrane, installation of new waterproofing membrane and asphalt surface and repainting of the steel super structure of the bridge.
Crews will also repair the road failure near milepost 128, starting in the spring of 2022.
“We recognize these Roanoke area closures create short term impacts, however we are pleased to know that in the coming years, this section of the Parkway will be restored in ways that will allow for many more years of high-quality visitor experiences,” said Alexa Viets, acting superintendent of the Blue Ridge Parkway. “We appreciate the local community’s support and leadership in providing helpful online information to navigate the detour in ways that encourage visitors to enjoy beautiful off-Parkway views and unique things to do in the communities along the detour route.”
Below is a detour map:
The detour route is in green. The closure areas are indicated in red. Open sections of the Blue Ridge Parkway are in blue.